Grey County council is moving ahead with the rehabilitation of the 140-year-old arched bridge in Chatsworth.
Council approved a motion Tuesday directing staff to prepare a tender for the rehabilitation of the bridge located on the rail trail just south of the village of Chatsworth.
“County council has authorized preparation of the final design and the tender preparation to go out to get some tenders from contractors for county council to consider,” said Warden Duncan McKinley.
The goal is to have the project out to tender by March 1.
Work would begin in the summer with any required in-stream work beginning at the start of July. The hope is to have all the work completed this year.
Still, McKinley said it will be up to county council to decide if the work will proceed once the tenders come in.
“If it is a budget item below a certain amount of money then a manager can approve it and this is not in that category,” said McKinley. “This has to come back to county council for approval of the tender.”
McKinley said county council can then consider its options — whether it is approving the tender, sending it back to negotiate a different set of specs or another option.
McKinley explained it is the county’s intention to repair the bridge to its former state.
“It is a repair using the same technology that the bridge was originally built with, so using a brick arch which has been used since before the Romans,” said McKinley. “There is some stone work that may require some reinforcing and revitalization and of course there will be modern moisture barriers and improved drainage, so the new structure will have a longer lifespan than the existing one.”
Under the federally funded Community Infrastructure Improvement Fund (CIIF), the county is to receive a contribution of up to $166,500 for the project, which has been estimated to cost in the $500,000 range. The county has set aside $350,000 in its 2013 budget for the work. There is also the possibility of private donations.
Earlier this year, Grey County approved demolishing the brick and stone archway, known as Culvert 21, and installing a new structure. The bridge, which is just off Hwy. 10 south of the village of Chatsworth and spans the Spey River, was at risk of failure and presented a risk to public safety and the environment.
But after hearing from members of the public who wanted the bridge saved, council voted in August to cancel the request for tender process for the project and reconsider the plan. It was then that county council instructed staff to apply for CIIF funding.
In the fall Bud Mervyn Construction installed a platform to protect the bridge’s brick arch as well as a tarp to prevent water from entering the structure. The portion of the rail trail that runs over the bridge has been closed and the trail was rerouted onto Elder Lane.